ALLENTOWN, Pa.---Residential customers have rated PP&L, Inc. as the best provider of electricity in the eastern United States, according to one of the broadest independent studies ever done on residential customer satisfaction in the U.S. electric utility industry.

PP&L, Inc. -- the largest subsidiary of PP&L Resources, Inc. (NYSE: PPL) -- delivers electricity to 1.3 million customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania, generates electricity, and markets wholesale energy in the United States and in Canada.

In the inaugural 1999 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, released earlier this week, PP&L, Inc. was ranked one of the country's top five electric utilities based on customer satisfaction. The electric utility's ranking was driven by strengths in the areas of reliability and price/value, according to the study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates and Navigant Consulting Inc.

"This study is just one more validation of the commitment PP&L Resources places on providing superior customer service throughout all of our companies," said William F. Hecht, chairman, president and chief executive officer of PP&L Resources, Inc. "We recognize that customer service is one of the attributes that sets PP&L, Inc. and its sister companies apart from others in our industry. The ability to listen and respond to customers will become increasingly important as our industry experiences the progression of deregulation."

The J.D. Power and Associates and Navigant Consulting study looked at the 118 largest U.S. utilities, which together serve about 90 percent of the U.S. households, and ranked them on a regional basis in the East, Midwest, South and West. Two utilities tied for first place in the West region.

The determining factors of overall satisfaction, in order of importance, were: image, based on 14 specific attributes such as reputation, honesty, effort to become more efficient and ability to communicate changes; price/value; power quality; reliability; billing; and the customer call center.

The study was based on more than 26,000 responses from residential customers throughout the continental United States. These responses were collected through telephone interviews during April and May of this year. Additional data compiled included state-to-state costs, awareness of deregulation, probability of changing providers and overall industry satisfaction.

"For an electric utility to truly satisfy its residential customers, it must do more than basic blocking and tackling," Jeffery C. Conkin of Navigant Consulting, Inc. said in the J.D. Powers press release. "The exceptional companies offer a variety of service and product options, communicate with their customers in a variety of media to keep them well informed, and when their customers call them, they take care of them right away."

PP&L, Inc.'s customer service has been recognized in the past. Last October, a Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) staff report noted that PP&L, Inc. had the lowest rate of PUC infractions and tied with another utility for the lowest justifiable complaint rate among major electric utilities in the state in 1997.

PP&L Resources, Inc.'s pledge to high customer satisfaction has extended beyond PP&L, Inc. "The daily dedication to customer service shown by our employees also is evident in our other subsidiaries," Hecht said, referring to a separate recognition recently given to PP&L Global, Inc. and its United Kingdom subsidiary, South Western Electricity plc (SWEB).

Earlier this year, SWEB became the first energy company in the country to gain the Government's coveted Charter Mark for the third time in succession. SWEB has joined an elite group of just 18 organizations -- out of a current 1,200 Charter Mark holders -- to have won the award in 1992, 1995 and 1998. The prestigious award acknowledges SWEB for leading the way for customer service in the United Kingdom.

Important milestones that contributed to SWEB receiving the Charter Mark include: fewest number of customer complaints; price reductions; improved reliability of electricity network; significant investments in customer service improvements; special care line for senior citizen customers; and awards for training staff to communicate with the visually impaired and hard-of-hearing customers.

PP&L Global develops electric generation throughout the United States and around the world and has ownership interests in United Kingdom and Latin American companies that distribute electricity to 2 million customers. PP&L Global owns 51 percent of SWEB; Atlanta, Ga.-based Southern Energy owns 49 percent and has operational and management control of SWEB.

Last month, SWEB again placed the spotlight on customer service when it agreed to sell its supply business to concentrate on owning and operating an extensive power network in southwest Britain, transporting and delivering electricity to 1.4 million customers. The supply business purchases wholesale electricity and then sells it to retail customers in the competitive marketplace.

"Along with Southern Energy, we have overseen dramatic improvements in SWEB's delivery business, especially in terms of reliability and customer service," said Paul Champagne, PP&L Global's president. "The sale of the supply business reflects SWEB's decision to further sharpen its focus on providing excellent electricity delivery services to the people of southwest Britain."

PP&L Global is setting similar customer satisfaction priorities in its Latin American market. Earlier this month, the company acquired additional shares in Empresas Emel S.A., bringing its ownership to 66.7 percent of the company and giving PP&L Global managerial and operational control.

Emel, one of Chile's largest electricity distribution companies, serves nearly 800,000 customers in Chile, Bolivia and El Salvador. "Our decision to invest in Emel and to place employees at its headquarters clearly demonstrates to those customers our commitment to them and the Latin American market," Champagne said. "We intend to make Emel the top service provider in the Chilean market with our ongoing programs to improve reliability and customer service."

Navigant Consulting, Inc., is a global management consulting company serving energy-based and other regulated industries and a nationwide provider of consulting services to electric and gas utilities, energy-related businesses and network industries.

J.D. Power and Associates, based in Agoura Hills, Calif., is a global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting and customer satisfaction.

Photos of PP&L, Inc. employees and customers, and the SWEB headquarters, as well as the PP&L Resources logo, are available via NewsCom Photo Database at (213) 237-5431 or on the World Wide Web at http://www.newscom.com See our Internet home page, at www.pplresources.com, for recent news releases and other information about PP&L Resources.